Bakersfield Man Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

FRESNO, Calif. — On Thursday, June 15, 2017, a grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Augustine Amon Reyes, 31, of Bakersfield, charging him with receipt and possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to the indictment, between October and November 2016, Reyes, through the use of a cellphone and a micro SD memory card, received and possessed over 80 sexually explicit images of prepubescent minors being sexually abused.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bakersfield Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian W. Enos is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Reyes faces a penalty of 15 to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the receipt of child pornography charge, as well as 10 to 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.